1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season

The 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1989, and concluded with the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 16, 1989, at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia. The Georgia Southern Eagles won their third I-AA championship, defeating the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks by a score of 37−34.

1989 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams	88
Duration	August–November
Payton Award	John Friesz (QB, Idaho)
Playoff
Duration	November 25–December 16
Championship date	December 16, 1989
Championship site	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, Georgia
Champion	Georgia Southern
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons
«1988 1990»

Conference changes and new programs

School	1988 Conference	1989 Conference
Davidson	Colonial (I-AA)	D-III Independent
Fordham	Liberty (D-III)	I-AA Independent
Louisiana Tech	I-AA Independent	I-A Independent
Samford	D-III Independent	I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1989 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–4 Idaho $^ 8 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 No. 6 Montana ^ 7 – 1 – 0 11 – 3 – 0 No. 19 Nevada 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Boise State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Eastern Washington 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Northern Arizona 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Montana State 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Idaho State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Weber State 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Poll	1989 Colonial League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–4 Holy Cross $ 4 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Bucknell 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Lafayette 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Lehigh 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Colgate 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1989 Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Southwest Missouri State $^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0 No. 15 Eastern Illinois ^ 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 No. 20 Northern Iowa 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Illinois State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Indiana State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Western Illinois 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Southern Illinois 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1989 Ivy League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Yale + 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Princeton + 6 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Harvard 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Dartmouth 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Cornell 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Penn 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Brown 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Columbia 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1989 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Delaware State $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Howard 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Florida A&M 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Bethune–Cookman 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 South Carolina State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 North Carolina A&T 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Morgan State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1989 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. T–10 Middle Tennessee $^ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 4 – 0 No. 12 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Murray State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Tennessee State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 Tennessee Tech 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Austin Peay 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 Morehead State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Records adjusted for Morehead State forfeit of conference victories over Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech, and non-conference victories over Kentucky State and Samford Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1989 Southern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Furman $^ 7 – 0 – 0 12 – 2 – 0 No. 7 Appalachian State ^ 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 Marshall 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 East Tennessee State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Chattanooga 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Western Carolina 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 VMI 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 8 – 1 The Citadel 1 – 5 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1989 Southland Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Stephen F. Austin $^ 5 – 0 – 1 12 – 2 – 1 Northwestern State 3 – 1 – 2 4 – 5 – 2 SW Texas State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Northeast Louisiana 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 6 – 1 McNeese State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 North Texas 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Sam Houston State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1989 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Grambling State $^ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 No. 17 Jackson State ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Alcorn State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Southern 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1 Texas Southern 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Alabama State 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Prairie View A&M 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Mississippi Valley State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll
1989 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Maine +^ 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0 No. 18 Connecticut + 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 No. 16 Villanova +^ 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 New Hampshire 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Delaware 5 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Boston University 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 UMass 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 Rhode Island 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Richmond 0 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll	1989 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Georgia Southern ^   –   12 – 0 – 0 No. 14 Youngstown State ^   –   9 – 3 – 0 No. T–10 William & Mary ^   –   8 – 3 – 1 Liberty   –   7 – 3 – 0 Western Kentucky   –   6 – 5 – 0 James Madison   –   5 – 4 – 1 Lamar   –   5 – 5 – 0 Arkansas State   –   5 – 6 – 0 Nicholls State   –   5 – 6 – 0 Samford   –   4 – 7 – 0 Northeastern   –   3 – 7 – 0 Fordham   –   2 – 6 – 0 Towson   –   2 – 8 – 0 ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons

Conference Champions

Big Sky Conference – Idaho Colonial League – Holy Cross Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference – Southwest Missouri State Ivy League – Princeton and Yale Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – Delaware State Ohio Valley Conference – Middle Tennessee State Southern Conference – Furman Southland Conference – Stephen F. Austin Southwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson State Yankee Conference – Connecticut, Maine, and Villanova

Postseason

The top four teams were seeded, and thus assured of home games in the opening round. The location of the final, the Georgia Southern Eagles' Paulson Stadium, had been predetermined via a three-year agreement the university reached with the NCAA in February 1989.

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

	First Round November 25 Campus sites				Quarterfinals December 2 Campus sites				Semifinals December 9 Campus sites				National Championship Game December 16 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA
	Villanova	36
	(1) Georgia Southern*	52
					(1) Georgia Southern*	45
					Middle Tennessee	3
	Appalachian State	21
	Middle Tennessee*	24
									(1) Georgia Southern*	45
									Montana	15
	Eastern Illinois	38
	(4) Idaho*	21
					Eastern Illinois	19
					Montana*	25
	Jackson State	7
	Montana*	48
													(1) Georgia Southern	37
													(3) Stephen F. Austin	34
	William & Mary	10
	(2) Furman*	24
					(2) Furman*	42
					Youngstown State	23
	Youngstown State	28
	Eastern Kentucky*	24
									(2) Furman*	19
									(3) Stephen F. Austin	21
	Grambling State	56
	(3) Stephen F. Austin*	59
					(3) Stephen F. Austin*	55
					Southwest Missouri State	25
	Maine	35
	Southwest Missouri State*	38

* Denotes host institution
Source: